Apple: leaving green product registry EPEAT was a “mistake”

Apple says it's committed to green its products, and has rejoined EPEAT.

Only one week after Apple pulled 39 of its products off the eco-friendly product registry EPEAT, the company has decided to hop back on board. In an open letter posted to Apple's website, Apple's Senior VP of Product Engineering Bob Mansfield explained Apple's stance on the environmental friendliness of its products and acknowledged the EPEAT pull-out as a "mistake."

"We’ve recently heard from many loyal Apple customers who were disappointed to learn that we had removed our products from the EPEAT rating system. I recognize that this was a mistake. Starting today, all eligible Apple products are back on EPEAT," Mansfield wrote.

Mansfield cited Apple's efforts in removing toxins like brominated flame retardants (BFRs) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) from its products, as well as its regular reports on greenhouse gas emissions for each product. He also pointed out that Apple's entire product line meets or exceeds the current EnergyStar 5.2 standards set by the US government.

"We think the IEEE 1680.1 standard could be a much stronger force for protecting the environment if it were upgraded to include advancements like these. This standard, on which the EPEAT rating system is based, is an important measuring stick for our industry and its products," Mansfield continued. "Our relationship with EPEAT has become stronger as a result of this experience, and we look forward to working with EPEAT as their rating system and the underlying IEEE 1680.1 standard evolve. Our team at Apple is dedicated to designing products that everyone can be proud to own and use."

EPEAT is a national registry of environmentally sound electronics, including desktops, notebooks, and displays. EPEAT's standards were developed by participating electronics manufacturers—Apple included—in conjunction with green groups, and require a certain level of recyclability. But one of the standards demands easy disassembly using common tools—and some of Apple's products, like the current third-generation iPad and Retina MacBook Pro, have received criticism for being particularly unfriendly to end user repairs. Neither Apple nor EPEAT specifically cited the MacBook Pro's repairability as a reason for them to part ways, but it was widely regarded among the tech press as a likely explanation.

Apple's decision to de-list itself from EPEAT came as somewhat of a shock to Apple's customer base, who is used to hearing the company tout its green efforts at every keynote and on its website. And although membership in EPEAT is voluntary, numerous schools and government agencies require the products they buy to meet EPEAT certification. The City of San Francisco became the first major municipality to announce that it would no longer spend city funds on Apple's computers after the EPEAT pull-out, with numerous universities and other local governments indicating that they would begin taking a look at their own policies.

Apple initially defended its decision by pointing out that it holds its products to environmental standards that aren't even measured by EPEAT, but it seems the general public's reaction to the news was just too much for the company. It's not often Apple ends up backing out of a major corporate decision so quickly after it was announced (and some might argue that such a thing would never have happened under former CEO Steve Jobs, who was known for his stubbornness). It's clear, however, that the company saw some value in re-joining EPEAT—if only to save face in light of the poor public reaction.

Update: EPEAT has also posted a letter to its website about Apple's decision to return.

"We look forward to Apple’s strong and creative thoughts on ongoing standards development. The outcome must reward new directions for both design and sustainability, simultaneously supporting the environment and the market for all manufacturers’ elegant and high-performance products," EPEAT CEO Robert Frisbee wrote.

"An interesting question for EPEAT is how to reward innovations that are not yet envisioned with standards that are fixed at a point in time. Diverse goals, optional points awarded for innovations not yet described, and flexibility within specified parameters to make this happen are all on the table in EPEAT stakeholder discussions. And of course, timely standards development, as with newly created Imaging Equipment and Television standards, and the current refresh of the PC/Display standard, is critical as well."

Promoted Comments

I never heard of EPEAT before this but I know what a non-replaceable battery means, shiny today but trash tomorrow. Believe the rationalizations of small size and design goals if it suits you. They are good for helping people fool themselves. Apple is clever that way.

You're confused, the batteries are replaceable. They're simply not easy to replace without skills and tools.

With that said, I'm not convinced that gadgets with _user_ replaceable batteries would lead to fewer gadgets or batteries in landfills. Note that consumers simply throw away bad batteries if they perform the replacement themselves. When replacement is performed by a store or service center, the batteries are nearly always recycled.

Similarly, cars used to be more user serviceable. Did harder to service cars result in cars going into landfills quicker and in higher numbers?

The era of consumers servicing their electronic gadgets is coming to an end. It hurts our geek heads, but it is true. The gadget and computer industries are now catering to general consumers rather than geeks. These people don't want to perform electronics surgery. It is far simpler to take things to a store or repair shop. Just like anything else in their house, when it breaks they take it to get fixed. Like I said, us geeks don't like this trend but it is reality.